Today is test burning day/week. It's that time when I double check all the candles to make sure that everything is working as close to perfection as possible. If the candles didn't last so long, this would be a quicker job. I test burn from top to bottom at the recommended burn time of anywhere from a half hour to 2-4 hours. There's even a few that I leave burning for a full 12 hours straight to make sure that there's no over heating of glass in worst case scenarios. And I burn them from top to bottom because the way a candle burns at the top is different from how it burns in the middle and then from how it burns on the bottom. I am always tweaking and perfecting. In my mind, it can always be a little bit better. I am thinking about how I can improve things whether it be the efficiency of how I pour, to the wax combination giving the best scent throw, to making sure the burn time is as efficient as possible. I want to know if that wood wick really does need trimming (so far the answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no) and how loud is that crackle (it depends on where it is being burnt, how much wood wick is burning and where in the candle the woodwick is....I find that they crackle more as the flame burns down towards the middle of the jar and resonates off the glass a bit more?) It's a fine line of making the crackle loud enough to be heard without compromising the cleanliness and length of burn of the overall candle. There are so many combinations and factors that go into making each candle work properly. It isn't just simply throw in wick, add wax and away you go. I've been making candles for years and I still religiously test burn to make sure that they are safe and work well. I never assume that if it's worked well in the past, that it will continue to do so in the future. Each new scent is test burnt and when my US supplier of soy wax (there are no Canadian makers of soy wax that I am aware of) switches up their process of making wax, I test burn everything because even the slightest change can effect how the end product works. It's pain staking but it's important. It's part of caring about what you do and how you do it.
I want to be sure everything works to it's best ability and hopefully that translates into your enjoyment of our candles. Sometimes, I think people assume that it is so simple and so easy. Soy wax is very natural and tempermental. It can be a love/hate relationship but once you figure out exactly how the wax will react and try not to change it, you can end up with a lovely product.
Cheers from Vancouver!